About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Accelerated Qualification Methods for Nuclear Reactor Structural Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
Proton irradiation effects on a multi-principal element alloy |
| Author(s) |
Chethan Konkati, Ankur Chauhan, Gayathri Banerjee, Paramita Mukherjee |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Chethan Konkati |
| Abstract Scope |
This study examines the irradiation response of a low stacking fault energy (SFE) variant of the equiatomic Cantor alloy (CoCrFeMnNi), a multi-principal element alloy (MPEA). Room temperature proton irradiation was conducted using a 6.5 MeV beam at a dose of 5×1017 p/cm². SRIM simulations indicated a peak damage level of ~0.16 dpa at ~135 μm depth. Nanoindentation showed irradiation-induced hardening, with hardness increasing from 2.76 ± 0.1 GPa (unirradiated) to 3.66 ± 0.1 GPa at 50 μm and 4.47 ± 0.1 GPa at 135 μm. TEM revealed dislocation loops, with higher density near the damage peak, explaining depth-dependent hardening. Dislocation pinning and bowing beneath nano-indents confirmed loop-induced strengthening. Hardness values matched well with predictions from the dispersion barrier hardening (DBH) model. Post-irradiation annealing at 200 °C showed negligible effect, while annealing at 400–550 °C for 0.5 hours resulted in progressive hardness recovery, indicating partial defect annealing. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, High-Entropy Alloys, Characterization |